The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to physical activity and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to a physical activity accessory.
Over the years, various hydration systems have been designed for runners, walkers, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts for the primary purpose of providing a means of carrying water hands free during strenuous exercise or recreational activity. Such products have been designed generally to be worn on the waist or on the back in order to allow for liquids to be accessibly within hands reach.
These types of product are generally available in two varieties: (1) those that use bottles that are worn around the waist; and, (2) those that use a bladder that are worn as a backpack. For the waist systems, the bottle is generally stowed inside some type of fabric sleeve or rigid (or semi rigid) cage. Removing the bottle from the sleeve or cage requires pulling the bottle upward in a vertical direction. While the current waist systems generally accomplish their primary purpose of allowing for the hands free transport of liquids, the universal complaint among end users is that it is nearly impossible to get the bottle in and out of the sleeve or cage, especially while trying to remain in motion. As a result, some end user will wear the bottle on the front of their waist in order to ease the difficulty of using the bottle. Others simply abandon using the system or choose to carry a bottle in their hand. For the backpack systems, the general complaints are that they are bulky and create too much body heat because of the large coverage of the back area. Also, the backpack systems dispense water through a hose which are difficult to clean and maintain, especially when sugary liquids collect inside the system.
Previous attempts in this area include, US20060097019, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,712,196, 6,666,360, 6,401,993, 6,004,033, 5,060,833 and D444,295, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.